in toto

In toto is used in judgments and pleadings to mean completely or in its entirety. An appellate court that agrees with every finding of the trial court may say it affirms the judgment in toto; a defendant who denies every allegation in a plaint may say he denies them in toto.

In drafting, a bare denial in toto is not good pleading. Under Order VIII Rules 3 and 5 CPC a defendant must deal specifically with each allegation of fact; an evasive or general denial may be treated as an admission. So a written statement that merely says “the plaint is denied in toto” risks being treated as admitting allegations it does not specifically traverse.

Example

The High Court upheld the trial court's decree in toto and dismissed the appeal with costs.

In Indian law

• Order VIII Rules 3 and 5, Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (specific denial)

See also

written statement · pleadings · pro tanto

Read more in the study notes

• The Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation Act, 1961 (Banking Law)
• Punishments under the BNS, including community service (Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita)
• Correlation: meaning, types and Karl Pearson's coefficient (Business Statistics)
• Introduction to the CPC: procedural law, history and key definitions (Civil Procedure Code and Limitation Act)
• Jurisdiction of civil courts and suits of a civil nature (section 9) (Civil Procedure Code and Limitation Act)
• Place of suing (sections 15 to 21A) (Civil Procedure Code and Limitation Act)